Rosas U., Zhou R. W., Castillo G., Collazo-Ortega M., Developmental Reaction Norms for Water Stressed Seedlings of Succulent Cacti, PLOS ONE, 2012, 7(3):e33936, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033936
An in vitro experiment compares development of Polaskia chichipe and Echinocactus platyacanthus seedlings in control medium and medium containing mannitol to impose osmotic stress. Shape and anatomical measurements at three sampling times showed that responses depended on species and age. Stress was associated with more frequent collapse of parenchyma cells and contrasting changes in xylem vessels in the two cacti. The study documents developmental plasticity under specified laboratory conditions.